Vote of Confidence

Yesterday, the United States threw a temper tantrum and a hissy fit after the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to admit Palestine into its organization. The US responded by stating in would cut off its $60 million dollar payment scheduled to be paid in November.

The US’s response should not come as a surprise despite its publicly stating it wants to seek a peaceful resolution between Israel and Palestine.

Phyllis Bennis, who is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, spoke with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! regarding this vote. Ms. Bennis called the vote a symbolic “effort of the Palestinians to win membership as a full member state” because it legitimizes Palestine in the international community, something neither the US nor Israel want.

During the interview, a clip was played with Victoria Nuland’s (spokesperson for the US State Department) response. She described the vote as “regrettable” and “premature,” finally going on to point out how the US “remains steadfast in its support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.” Of course by independent and sovereign state, she means one that is there to serve Israeli and US interests only, not Palestinian interests.

Israel’s response was quite as childish as the US’s, as Israel announced it would accelerate its development project on “units of land it seized during the 1967 Mideast War.”